Nalzaro: Tsunami scare

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

PANDEMONIUM broke out in Cebu City after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit Central Visayas. People panicked when Phivolcs raised its tsunami alert level to 2.

Some people left their houses and work areas, fetched their children from school and rushed to elevated portions of the city like Barangays Busay and Kalunasan. Despite advice by authorities not to panic, people sought high ground supposedly to evade the tsunami.

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The body of a Barangay Apas resident that was scheduled for burial at the Carreta cemetery was almost abandoned by relatives and neighbors who were caught in the chaos. They rushed to service vehicles and ordered the drivers to go back to their barangay. They only returned to bury the dead when things normalized. Maayo gani kay wala pod mobangon ug modagan ang patay.

Some residents near the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) climbed to the hospital rooftop. Students and government workers had a free day when classes and work were suspended. The others headed for home, causing heavy traffic. In Colon St., people scampered for safety after hearing reports that a tsunami would hit the South Road Properties (SRP).

In Capitol Site, Capitol employees and residents in the surrounding areas went to Kalunasan when rumors spread that that tsunami waters were already at the Fuente Osmeña circle. Some people abandoned their cars and walked. It was like a scene in a war movie, with people being evacuated from a war zone to a safer place.

What caused the panic? Did people spread false information through text messages? Was it because of our ignorance of what a tsunami is?

First, the culprit was not the media but people who used text messages to raise a false alarm. Instead, the broadcast media helped neutralize the situation by advising people to stay calm. Some people listened to media advisory but others ignored it.

People's lack of knowledge about a tsunami was also a contributing factor. Next time, we should listen to the experts. Tsunami occurs a few minutes after a massive tremor hits the sea bottom. Other causes are volcanic eruption and a comet plunging into the sea.

But places usually hit by a tsunami are those facing the ocean. This is because water needs to build up into a big wave before it could strike the shoreline. Tsunamis develop within an area of a hundred kilometers with a speed of 800 kilometers per hour. Cebu is not facing any ocean, so the possibility of us being hit by a tsunami is remote.

Those who evacuated, I think, also made the right decision. We cannot, after all, predict when an earthquake strikes. So it is good to be always on alert. It means that we are matured as far as calamity preparations are concerned. Matod pa sa sanglitanan, anha na ba diay kita manguros kun maigo na sa kilat?
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While an almost comic scene unfolded here on that “unforgettable” day, people in the hardest hit areas in Negros Oriental are in deep sorrow. Reports said that less than a hundred people vanished in that earthquake.

Rescue and retrieval operations are still underway in Guihulngan City and La Libertad town which were hit by massive landslides. These areas have no electricity and water. Roads were destroyed, making it impassable to vehicles. According to an official in Guihulngan, billions of pesos are needed to rehabilitate the town.

Our condolences and sympathy to our unfortunate brothers and sisters in quake-hit areas.

(bobby.nalzaro@yahoo.com)